Flozelle
Woodmore, 39, has lived her
entire adult life in prison. Classified
as a trouble-free, minimum-security
prisoner, she lives with seven women
in a cell designed for two including
maximum-security inmates and others
with serious emotional disorders.

Violence
in the Lives of Incarcerated Women. Research
indicates that women’s imprisonment
is largely attributable to drug addiction,
prostitution, and retaliation against abusive
partners; survival strategies to
cope with overwhelming physical, sexual,
and psychological victimization. Many
were first arrested as juveniles
because they ran away from home to escape
abuse.

Locked
up - Locked down:
A mother's love for her child
An article by an incarcerated
mother about not giving up
hope for her child. "While
inside, we need to fight within
ourselves to stay together
because though we don't know
where our children are- we
still care. I tell my story
to uplift other incarcerated
mothers, and to reach my son.
This goes out to you, my beloved.
"

Free
Battered Women (FBW), is a grassroots
coalition of currently and formerly
incarcerated women, their families,
activists, attorneys, students,
community members, and other dedicated
individuals who strive to end the
re-victimization of battered women
in prison.

Female
juvenile delinquents - Juvenile
courts in the US processed 1,755,100
delinquency cases in 1997. 23% of
the delinquency cases processed
in 1997 involved a female offender,
compared with 19% in 1988. Between
1988 and 1997, the number of delinquency
cases involving females increased
83%.

Keeping
Incarcerated Mothers and Their Daughters
Together - Girl Scouts Beyond
Bars - Children of prison inmates
are the hidden victims of their
parents' crimes. Like children of
divorced or deceased parents, they
often show signs of distress caused
by the lack of a stable home life
and parental separation, such as
depression, aggression, poor school
performance, and truancy. Many times
they also follow their parents'
criminal behavior patterns. To keep
mothers and daughters connected
and to enhance parenting skills,
Girl Scouts Beyond Bars involves
mothers in their daughters' lives
through a unique partnership between
a youth services organization and
State and local corrections departments.